“Why,” exclaimed the professor. “I come from Maine, too. I am a history teacher in Bridgewater!”
“In Bridgewater!” cried Terry as they entered the business section. “Then you must know the Mercer brothers.”
“Know them!” laughed the professor. “I have them here with me!”
“Here, with you? Well, I’ll be jiggered! They are my very best chums!” said Terry. “Last summer I was in Bridgewater, sailing with them, and we go to Woodcrest together, in fact, we room together. What are they doing here?”
“We are going down to Lower California to visit my son Ned, on his ranch, and make some scientific studies, and perhaps look up a treasure that Ned feels sure that he can find nearby. How did you come to be out here?”
“I didn’t have a thing to do this summer,” explained Terry. “My mother and sister went to visit friends in New Hampshire, and so I decided to tour the country in my car. I’ve been out here for the last two days, and I was going to head for Mexico tomorrow.”
“How very strange that we should meet,” commented the professor. “You must step up and see the boys. They will be glad to see you.”
“I won’t be a bit sorry to see them,” returned Terry, heartily. “They certainly will be surprised.”
They drove on until they were almost at the hotel, and then Terry, who had been thinking deeply, suddenly began to chuckle. Then, as the professor looked inquiringly at him, the red-headed boy spoke.
“Professor,” he said, “how would you like to help me in a little joke?”